Thursday, August 4, 2011

Frolics at Fowlmead

Fowlmead Country Park, between Sandwich and Deal (Kent), is a recently rejuvenated coal spoil heap and now a great place for off-road cycling, and, as it happens, botany. I'd not visited Fowlmead on my previous Kentish excursions, due to the plethora of other fabulous natural habitats in East Kent in which to indulge my botanical fetishes.

But, my niece loves Fowlmead, so we made some lettuce and salad cream sarnies, packed her bike into my car, and off we went (28th July). I hired a bike for £3.50/hour (hire includes a cycle helmet). Parking is £1.50 all day, so very cheap if you bring your own bikes. It was pretty busy with lots of kids (and adults) having lots of fun :-)

The first thing I did was park, inadvertently, in the disabled parking bay. It's not, IMHO, very well marked, as once a car is parked in front of the sign, other driver's can't see it. Hmm.

Young niece was quite a demon on her bike, with dastardly tactics which, included the deliberate running of her aunt (encumbered with a digital camera as she was and gazing forlornly at the plants as we flew past them) off the track and into the rough. I didn't get many chances to botanise in the morning, only when small person needed a rest, but I think I got enough for a decent flog (aka a flower blog).

Our first spot of the day was the adorably fluffy hare's-foot clover (Trifolioum arvense) in the play area.

Blue fleabane (Erigeron acris) has rather insignificant but very beautiful flowers.

We stopped by Fowlmead Lake for a rest.

One of the highlights of my day was finding the uncommon narrow-leaved birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus tenuis (syn.glaber), by the lake. (ID has been confirmed by VC recorder).

It's taller and more wiry than common BFT, and very distinctive. It prefers dry grassland near the sea.....so the habitat is just right at Fowlmead. Chuffed I am....... :-)

Nearby the pale pink flowers of the insect magnet, hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)were coming into bloom. It's named for the similarity of its leaves to cannabis (to which it is not related).

Ploughman's spikenard (Inula conyzae) with its cute, little, green spreading bracts, was growing by the path. In France they call it herbe aux mouche (herb of the flies). Mrs Grieve lists its common names as Cloron's Hard, Horse Heal, Cinnamon Root and Great Fleabane. [I've not found out what or who Cloron is yet.....except it might be derived from a Welsh word for potato]

On the more open grassland we found swathes of common centaury (Centaurium erythraea) with its curly yellow anthers.

And yellow-wort (Blackstonia perfoliata), its flowers open despite the grey skies.

So we come to my other botanical highlight of the day......basil thyme (Clinopodium acinos). It's on the Kent rare plant register and this record has been lodged with the vice-county recorder. Very chuffed indeed I am!

Here basil thyme is growing with wild-strawberry.

We also indulged in some spur-of-the-moment botanically-related art-activities; namely Teasel Sculpture.

People with good taste...

Search Sandy Wildlife

Content on Sandy Wildlife

The vast majority of images on this site are taken by me. Where this is not the case I hope I have attributed the image correctly. My photos are not great but they are accessible for anyone to use, under the licence agreement above, as I believe the internet is somewhere we should share our thoughts, our ideas and our (pretty average in my case) pictures.The written content is also my own and I have referenced it as fully as I felt I should in the context of a blog.